Vandell

Los Angeles, United States

North America's 50 Best Bars 2026 · Spirited Awards 2026: Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar, Top 4

Shawn Lickliter and Vay Su opened on Hillhurst Avenue in December 2025 with thirty cocktails organised into signatures, classics with vintage spirits, zero-proof options, and forgotten recipes, gimlets, Saratogas, built from a backbar stocking vintage 1970s Campari and rare bottles. Lines form nightly down the block. The retro, low-lit room with dimly lit alcoves and a Red Room alcove channels mid-century Los Feliz without the irony. Vandell arrived without rankings but with the kind of instant neighbourhood loyalty that rankings eventually follow. The walk-in queue is the price of admission. It was a Top 4 finalist for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar at the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.